3 Physical Processes On Earth Final 1 3

Physical Processes on
Earth
ENS 211 – SYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND QUANTITATIVE METHODS IN NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENTSaturday, February 10, 2018
Nature of Solar Energy
 Solar energy comes to the earth as PHOTONS
(particles of light energy) of electromagnetic waves
 short to long wavelengths; spectrum ranges from

gamma rays to radio waves
 shorter wavelengths have higher energy level than

longer wavelength
 e.g. Violet light has higher energy level than red

light
Electromagnetic spectrum of Solar Radiation
Energy Low Energy high

 Ultra-violet, x-rays and gamma rays are

radiations of very short electromagnetic waves
 The shorter the wavelengths, the higher is its

energy level
 Radiation of high energy levels kill many

organisms
 Solar energy is approximately 4% UV, 44% visible

light, and 52% infra-red and long waves
 The higher energy wavelengths are screened out

by OXYGEN and OZONE in the upper
atmosphere,
 infrared radiation is screened out by WATER and

CARBON DIOXIDE
 The light in the earth are represented by visible

light with wavelengths ranging from 0.40 – 0.70
micrometer (μm)
 Photosynthetically active radiation (PhAR) range

from red (0.64 – 0.70 μm) and the blue (0.44 -
0.59 μm)
 In a vacuum, different wavelengths travel at the

same speed of 300,000 km/sec
THE EARTH AND THE SUN RAYS
 Sun radiates about 100,000 cal/cm2/min of energy

at distance is 149.7 M km
 Incoming solar energy at the top of the earth’s

atmosphere averages about 2.0 cal/cm2/min
 Radiation either absorbed, transmitted or reflected

by the earth’s surface
 Most of the radiation received by earth’s surface

are visible light, infrared radiation and a small
amount of UV radiation
 Reflected back by the atmosphere (26 percent) and

from water, soil, air, vegetation(6 percent)
 Unaltered light not allowed to enter the surface due

to its reflectivity
 The 68% are absorbed by atmosphere and earth’s

surface (air, water, land)
 Heat the atmosphere and surface, evaporate and

cycle the water and generate winds
 Small fraction (1 – 2 %) is captured by green plants

and other autotrophic organisms and convert to
chemical energy thru photosynthesis
The Greenhouse Effect
1. All energy absorbed by the earth surface will eventually

be re-radiated and re-emitted back to the space;
otherwise, the earth will overheat
2. All incoming energy must be balanced by the outgoing

energy – however, there is a change in properties
3. Most of the solar energy reaching the earth is visible

light to which the atmosphere is transparent, while the
re-emitted energy is mostly infrared radiation
 The rate at which heat flows from the atmosphere and

released back to the space is influenced by the heat
trapping greenhouse gases that lead to the phenomenon
called GREENHOUSE EFFECT
 The earth’s atmosphere contains heat-absorbing gases

like water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide
and ozone
 These serve as atmospheric thermal blanket that

regulates the thermal exchanges between the earth-
atmospheric system
 Without the thermal blanketing of the natural

greenhouse effect, Earth’s climate would be about 33°C
(about 59°F) cooler—too cold for most living organisms
to survive
 The absorption of the outbound long wave radiation by

the atmosphere and its emission back toward earth is
called the greenhouse effect
 Greenhouse gases and water vapor absorb some

infrared wavelengths and reradiate part of them
toward the earth
 As these gases build up in the atmosphere, they trap

more heat near Earth’s surface, causing Earth’s climate
to become warmer than it would naturally
 Ocean temperatures rise and some water enters the

atmosphere and the earth’s surface temperature
increases
 Scientists call this unnatural heating effect global

warming and blame it for an increase in Earth’s surface
temperature of about 0.6°C (about 1°F) over the last
100 years
greenhouse gases
Any gases that cause the
“greenhouse effect!”
Imagine… a car on a cool but sunny day…
Greenhouse Gas
(GHG)
Water Vapor
 most common gas in the atmosphere, accounts 60 to

70 percent of the natural greenhouse effect
 as the concentration of other greenhouse gases in the

atmosphere (producing warmer temperatures on
Earth) increases, evaporation increase and raise the
amount of water vapor in the atmosphere.
Carbon Dioxide
Carbon dioxide constantly circulates in the

environment through a variety of natural processes
known as the carbon cycle
Sources of additional CO2 in the atmosphere
Durning of fossil fuel (coal, oil, natural gas,)
Deforestation or cutting/burning of forest trees
CO2 is steadily increasing at the rate of about 1 ppm/yr
burning of fossil fuel (coal, oil, natural gas,)
burning down of tropical forest
Every kw-hour electricity generated
using fossil fuel releases 1 kg CO2
Each liter of gasoline burned releases 2.5 kg CO2
METHANE
 1 molecule CH4 = 25 molecules of CO2 in its warming
effect
 Decomposition of carbon-containing substances found in

oxygen-free environments release methane
 Ruminating animals belch methane into the air ;

Anaerobic bacteria in rice fields, produce methane when
they break down organic matter
 Emitted during coal mining and production of fossil fuels
Rate of increase is about 10 ppb per year. However, since 1 CH4 molecule is
worth 25 CO2 molecules, the equivalent growth rate in terms of CO2 is 2.5
ppm. Thus methane will eventually be the dominant enhanced greenhouse gas
in our atmosphere.
Nitrous Oxide
 Released by the burning of fossil fuels, and

automobile exhaust is a large source of this gas.
 Use nitrogen-containing fertilizers to provide

nutrients to their crops, emit nitrous oxide into the
air.
 Plowing fields also releases nitrous oxide.
OZONE
 Natural and human-made greenhouse gas
 Ozone in the upper atmosphere is known as the ozone
layer and shields life from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet
radiation
 Ozone in the lower atmosphere is a component of smog

and is considered a greenhouse gas
 Unlike other greenhouse gases, which are well-mixed

throughout the atmosphere, ozone in the lower
atmosphere tends to be limited to industrialized regions
Fluorinated compounds
(CFCs and HCFCs)
 Nontoxic and safe to use in most applications,
CFCs are harmless in the lower atmosphere.
 However, in the upper atmosphere, ultraviolet

radiation breaks down CFCs, releasing chlorine into
the atmosphere
 higher concentrations of chlorine destroy ozone

layer in the upper atmosphere
Fluorinated compounds
(CFCs and HCFCs)
 these synthetic compounds are more effective
than carbon dioxide in trapping heat
1 molecule of CFC = 10,000 molecules of CO2 in its

warming effect
CFCs account for c. 15% of the greenhouse effect
aerosol sprays, blowing agents for foams and

packing materials, solvents, and refrigerants
THE EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE
Divisions of the Atmosphere

Without our atmosphere, there would be no life on Earth.

LAYERS OF ATMOSPHERE
TROPOSPHERE
 lowest layer of the earth's atmosphere and site of all
weather on the earth
 bounded on the top by a layer of air called the
tropopause, which separates the troposphere from the
stratosphere
 temperature decreases with increasing height at an
average of 6.5ºC per 1,000 m, reaching about -80º C
above the tropical regions and about -50º C above the
polar regions
TROPOSPHERE
 It contains 75 percent of the atmosphere's mass—on an
average day the weight of the molecules in air is 1.03
kg/sq cm—and most of the atmosphere's water vapor
 Water vapor concentration varies from trace amounts in

polar regions to nearly 4 percent in the tropics.
 The most prevalent gases are nitrogen and oxygen with

argon (0.9 percent) and traces of hydrogen, ozone,
methane, and other constituents
STRATOSPHERE
 Commence at an altitude of 8 to 16 km and extending
upward to about 50 km
 Similar composition with troposphere except for water
(lower 1000X) and ozone (1000X higher)
 Temperature remains nearly constant, but in the upper
portion the temperature increases rapidly with height
because of absorption of sunlight by ozone
 The stratosphere is almost completely free of clouds or
other forms of weather.
OZONE LAYER
 Ozone layer is found in the stratosphere
 A region of the atmosphere from 19 to 48 km above

Earth's surface
 Ozone concentrations of up to 10 parts per million

occur in this layer.
 The ozone forms by the action of sunlight on

oxygen
What is ozone?
How is ozone formed in the atmosphere?
Importance of Ozone Layer
Protects life on Earth by absorbing harmful
ultraviolet radiation from the Sun
Short wavelengths of ultraviolet radiation are

damaging to the cell structure of living organisms
Fortunately, the ozone layer absorbs almost all of

the short-wavelength ultraviolet radiation and much
of the long-wavelength ultraviolet radiation given
off by the Sun
Ozone Layer Hole
The ozone hole over the South Pole is apparent in this false-color image taken by a satellite in October
1999. Low levels of ozone are shown in blue. Ozone is a gas that blocks harmful ultraviolet sunlight.
Industrial chemicals released into the atmosphere have caused ozone to break down, opening holes in
the ozone layer that tend to concentrate at the poles.
MESOSPHERE
 Above the ozone-rich stratosphere lies the

mesosphere, where air temperature, again,
decreases with height
 The mesosphere is the coldest layer of the

atmosphere which could go down as far as -80 oC
and extends from an altitude of about 50 km to
about 85 km
THERMOSPHERE
 Above the mesosphere lies the hot thermosphere,

where air temperatures can exceed 1000° C, primarily
due to oxygen absorbing the sun’s energetic rays.
 Compose of highly ionized gases extending up to 1600

km
 Temperature in this layer is very high because

molecules are constantly bombarded by high energy
solar and cosmic radiation
SUMMARY
Troposphere
 Declining temperature with increasing height
 Zone strongly stirred by wind
 Layer that directly affects life on earth
Stratosphere
 Stable air temperature
 Low water concentration
 Calm region of the atmosphere, with little air mixing
 High ozone concentration
Mesosphere
 Region of very low temperature (-80 oC)
Thermosphere
Region of highly ionized gases
Very high temperature
CLIMATE AND WEATHER
 Any moment in time, the troposphere has a particular
set of physical properties including temperature,
pressure, humidity, precipitation, sunshine, cloud cover
and wind
 The day to day manifestation of these properties of

the troposphere is WEATHER
 Daily weather is created by the movement of wind and

air masses – the dynamism of the atmosphere is
maintained by the flow of solar energy
CLIMATE AND WEATHER
 CLIMATE is the average long-term pattern of weather
in a particular area
 It is the region’s general pattern of atmospheric or

weather conditions or weather extremes such as
prolonged drought or rain
 It often undergoes a cyclic change over years, decades,

centuries and millennia
 As human activities change the properties of the

atmosphere, climate likewise becomes more variable
THE END

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Physical Processes on

 short to long wavelengths; spectrum ranges from

 shorter wavelengths have higher energy level than

 e.g. Violet light has higher energy level than red

Energy Low Energy high

 Ultra-violet, x-rays and gamma rays are

 The shorter the wavelengths, the higher is its

 Radiation of high energy levels kill many

 Solar energy is approximately 4% UV, 44% visible

 The higher energy wavelengths are screened out

 infrared radiation is screened out by WATER and

 The light in the earth are represented by visible

 Photosynthetically active radiation (PhAR) range

 In a vacuum, different wavelengths travel at the

 Sun radiates about 100,000 cal/cm2/min of energy

 Incoming solar energy at the top of the earth’s

 Radiation either absorbed, transmitted or reflected

 Most of the radiation received by earth’s surface

 Reflected back by the atmosphere (26 percent) and

 Unaltered light not allowed to enter the surface due

 The 68% are absorbed by atmosphere and earth’s

 Heat the atmosphere and surface, evaporate and

 Small fraction (1 – 2 %) is captured by green plants

1. All energy absorbed by the earth surface will eventually

2. All incoming energy must be balanced by the outgoing

3. Most of the solar energy reaching the earth is visible

 The rate at which heat flows from the atmosphere and

 The earth’s atmosphere contains heat-absorbing gases

 These serve as atmospheric thermal blanket that

 Without the thermal blanketing of the natural

 The absorption of the outbound long wave radiation by

 Greenhouse gases and water vapor absorb some

 As these gases build up in the atmosphere, they trap

 Ocean temperatures rise and some water enters the

 Scientists call this unnatural heating effect global

 most common gas in the atmosphere, accounts 60 to

 as the concentration of other greenhouse gases in the

Carbon dioxide constantly circulates in the

Sources of additional CO2 in the atmosphere

Durning of fossil fuel (coal, oil, natural gas,)

Deforestation or cutting/burning of forest trees

 Decomposition of carbon-containing substances found in

 Ruminating animals belch methane into the air ;

 Emitted during coal mining and production of fossil fuels

 Released by the burning of fossil fuels, and

 Use nitrogen-containing fertilizers to provide

 Plowing fields also releases nitrous oxide.

 Ozone in the lower atmosphere is a component of smog

 Unlike other greenhouse gases, which are well-mixed

 However, in the upper atmosphere, ultraviolet

 higher concentrations of chlorine destroy ozone

1 molecule of CFC = 10,000 molecules of CO2 in its

CFCs account for c. 15% of the greenhouse effect

aerosol sprays, blowing agents for foams and

Divisions of the Atmosphere

Without our atmosphere, there would be no life on Earth.

 Water vapor concentration varies from trace amounts in

 The most prevalent gases are nitrogen and oxygen with

 A region of the atmosphere from 19 to 48 km above

 Ozone concentrations of up to 10 parts per million

 The ozone forms by the action of sunlight on

Short wavelengths of ultraviolet radiation are

Fortunately, the ozone layer absorbs almost all of